eccnomos



May 14, 1929. J. N. EcoNoMos REFRIGERATOR Filed Dec. 23, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEY.

:wenn May 14, c1929.

UNITED vSTATI-1S :1,713,333 P. :oFF-ica.

nnnnrenna'ron.

I Application'ukd Deeemberf23,.1926. 'Seria1'l-No.iI56,658.

It is la purpose oof the presentfinvention to provide, in a refrigerator, -iiieans forthejsupport of bottled goods such .assoft ldrinlis and the like in the upperwpart and inilk'in the the soft drink bottled goods for dispensing suchv goods Without openingthe toprof the refrigerator and exposing the ice to the outside atmosphere.

Another purpose is to provide a refrigerj, ator with a plurality of parallel compartments i for containing various liiavors of s oft drink bottled goods, including a yrotating dispensing devi-ceibelow each compartment,

:so that a bottle of goods :at a time may bevallowed to discharge from *the refrigerator.

Still another 'purpose is the provision :of aV rotating tubular holder cutaway at 4diagonally opposite portions, Ywhereby diagonally opposite portions of the tube ma alternately receive a bottle at a time wlierciy, upon ifotating the. tube, a bottle may be discharged p rst from. one portion of the tube and then from the opposite portion, there being .aslide with pivotal chutesthereabove to direct the bottled. goods toward `an outlet,v of which a swinging closure has a plurality of vopeniigijgs to permit the necks of the bottles to project therethrough, whereby they can be extracted.

A further purposek isto provide a refrigeratorv with a tank at the botten. to receiveimil'k bottlesfin conjunction witlizmeans for circulating ice Water; fromY the :tank to aA coil in the ice compartment and then :backtovtlie Vt an'k,thereby maintaining the water 'in the tank cold.

'A still further purposefis to provide alternate abutments in the-several soft dri-nk bott-led goodscompartnients for ,guiding the bottles into .said :dispensing tubes and; thereby prevenfingthe bottles fromjamrning ini the compartments.

It isto be understood that? the particulars 'herein given are inno waylir'nitativ-.e and that, while still keeping Within the scope of the invention, anyl desired modificationsl of detail and desired proportions. may be inade in thel apparatus according to the-circufmstances.

The inventionrcomprises further" features and combinations `ofl parts to be hereinafter ysetfortlnshown in the ldrawings and-claimed.

In the "drawings:

Figure-lis a view in perspective kof the iniproved refrigerator constructed in accordancewith the invention.

f2-2 yof Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical aectionalviefw on line .v3-43 Iof .Figure 2,-showingvthe pluralityof lower part, with means immediately below culating.y the water from thertank at kthe .bot4

'tom to thecoil'in .the ice chamber.v

`Figure 4. is an' enlarged detail view of `one of the rotatingl dispensing tubes.

\Referrin{,r ,1;A to the` drawings, 1 designates a `casing which :may be lany size and shape, preferably rectangular zasshown, Vandv -which is divided into an ice chamber'2, a' compartmentf at-the .bott-0in., andan intermediate compartment 4. This latter compartment extends from thefbottom of .the ice chamber to a point substantially 'midway the height of the casing. lThe compartment 4 is l.subdivided into forward and rear pluralities of compartments yiand for the reception of soft drink bottled goods.

A partition '7 divi'des'the forward and rear compartments izand vThis partition 7 is `pivoted so" that the upper end thereof maybe :swung forward to permit bottled goods'to be arranged in the rear compartments 6. Doors 8 faire hinged: at '9 for `,closing the compartment 4. In order to arrange bottled goods in the compartments ,and 6, the doors i8 are opened,

tions their bottledgegoods Yare arrangedl in stlien the.` partitions .7 .are swung forwardlyand downwardly, allowing the ybottled goods to bev .arranged in the: compartments'. i6, then the partitions 7v are :disposed in' vertical posi- Jdie compartments 5, .after Ywhich the doors 8 n can be closedandv latclied, .as-shown at l0.

At lche' bottom of the compartment 4 isa plurality .of :dispensing tubes 1l, one extend` ing :from the *forwardfportion.lof each compartfment v5 to tliefrear .port-ion .of each :com-

par-trneii-t 6. T'he'dispensingtubes are oaj pable -ofmanualr rocking :movementsI for. the f purpose. .of dispensing; bottledrgoods and .are

provided "with Lhan'dles L12 which may be 'graspediby fan'vaoperator for such purpose.

Each dispensing tube has diagonal portions` cutaway, as shownatlf, so kas to allow the bottled fgoodsxto enter diagonally lopposite portions-of the lube.

` Immediately y:below the :dispensing .tubes are r rockii-ig chiites l, the upper faces of which arefconcaveth as shown, lto conform to the shape of the bottle. :The chutes` are piv- `otally mounted, as 'atl' 16, the'longer ends of the cliutesbein-g :adapted to engage :abutlos ments l7'to limit them inA horizontal positions. The shorter ends of the chutes carry weights 18, whereby the chutes are capable of restorinV to initial position after the discharge of the bottles. Below the chutes is a slide 19 upon which the bottles engage after leaving the pivoted chutes and slide toward a discharge opening covered by a pivoted closure 2l which is provided with a plurality of arched openings 22, one below each of the compartments 5.

A bottle, as it is discharged by a discharge chute 15, moves down the slide 19, so that the mouth and neck portion of the bottle may project through an opening normally covered 4by a swinging closure 2 1, so that it may be grasped and removed and given to the purchaser. A shelf 23, which is curved upon its upper face, is immediately below the closure 21 to assist in supporting the neck of the bottle where it prot-rudes through the opening.

A suitable drip pan 24 is arranged below the slide to' receive the water from the ice chamber 2, there being a pi e 25 extending from the pan to a tank 26 at t ie bottom of the refrigerator casing. ,The tank 26'is'adapted to receive milk bottled goods which are kept cold by the Water from the drip pan 24. An overiow pipe 27 is mounted in the tank 26 to carry off the superfluous water and to keep the water in the tank at a predetermined level. Doors 28 are hinged at 29 for closing the compartment 3 which receives the milk bottled goods which rest in the tank 26 and by open.- ing the doors access may be had to thebottled' goods. A shelf 30 is mounted in the compartment 3 for subdividing the same, the shelf acting to support` various articles.

The bottom3l of the ice chamber is' perforated in a suitable manner lto permit the drippings from the ice to fall upon the soft drink bottled goods in the compartments 5 and 6. A door 32 closes the ice chamber and is hingedly mounted on the side of the refrigerator casing as shown whereby, upon opening the same, access may be had to the c amber for installing ice therein.

Arranged in the ice chamber is asuitahle coil 33 which is provided with a plurality.

of spray nozales 34 which are arranged to extend partially into the upper parts of the compartment-s 5 and 6. A pipe .35 extends from the coil 33 and is connected to a rotary pump 36 which is disposed in the lower portion of the refrigerator casing. A pipe 37 extends from the rotary pump and terminates at a point adjacent the bottom of the tank 26. A shaft 38 of the rotary pump 36 is operated by a conventional type of electric `motor 39 which may be supported on aA suitable shelf 40 exterior of one of the sides of the refrigerator casing.

Upon operating the pump through the medium of the motor, the water in the tank 26 is lifted and passed through the pipe 35 and ,circulated through the coil 33, the water.

being allowed to spray into the several compartments 5 and 6 and upon the'bottled goods. The water drips back into the` pan 24 and is returned to the tank 26 by means of the pipe 25. As long as the pump operates, the water is kept in circulation and maintained cold for the purpose of keeping the milk bottled goods cold in the tank. i

Each pair of compartments 5 and 6 contain goods of like character-that is, of the same flavor and the dispensing tube asso- Ciated with each pair of compartments dispenses iirst from one and then the other. By this arrangement the goods are arranged in two tiers one behind the other from which the units are alternately selected by the o eration of the dispensing tube. The height of the dispensing compartment is therefore reduced one-half of what would be necessary were the goods arranged in single stacks.

Obviously goods of different iavors may bel stored in the several different pairs of compartments 5 and 6.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed is:

l. A refrigerator for bottled goods having a plurality of bottle-receiving compartments arranged in pairs of which each consists of a forward and rear compartment, a rotatably mounted dispensing tube spanning each forward and rear compartment and cut away to provide bottle-receiving seats, the compartments bein arranged to dispose the bottles in the two Flaterally in the same vertical plane and the seats in the dispenser being on diametrically opposite sides and axially displaced to dispose them one under each compartment, and means for rotating the dispensing tube.

2. `A refrigerator for bottled goods having a plurality of bottle-receiving compartments arrangediin pairs of which each consists of a forward and rear compartment, a dispensing element common to the two compartments of each pair, a door permitting access to the forward compartments, and a partition member separating each forward and rear compartment and pivotally mounted at its lower extremity to y e swingable forward at its upper end to permit access to the rear compartment through the forward compartment.

3. A refrigerator for bottled goodshaving a plurality of bottle-receiving compartments, a slide common tov said compartments-at their lower ends and communicating with a dis a bottle-receiving compartment, a slide arranged below said compartment and communicating with a discharge opening, a dispensing device at the lower end of the compartment, and a pivotally mounted chute disposed below the dispensin vided with means for holing it normally horizontal, said chute receiving a bottle from the dispensing device and being bottle-actuated to deposit the bottle on said slide.

5. A re'trigerator for bottled goods having a bottle-receiving compartment, a slide arranged below said compartment and communicating with a discharge opening, a disdevice and pro-` pensing device at the lower end of the compartment, a discharge chute disposed below the dispensing device and having a pivotal mounting to one end of its longitudinal center, abutments limiting the discharge chute to horizontal position, and a weight carried b the discharge chute and norma ly holding t e latter against the abutments, the dispensing device disposing a bottle on the discharge chute' and the latter being bottle-actuated to discharge the bottle on said slide.

In testimony whereof he aixes his signa ture.

JAMES N. ECONOMOS. 

